


Fire and the Flood

by Miko_of_Midnight



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Barry will wait for him, Day 3, Eventual Barry Allen/Oliver Queen, F/M, It's Okay, M/M, Olivarry Week 2017, Oliver doesn't want a soulmate, Poor Barry, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko_of_Midnight/pseuds/Miko_of_Midnight
Summary: Everyone looked forward to their Fifteenth Birthday.Despite the fact that it was rare didn’t deter anyone from hoping that day would change their lives. For most newly 15-year-olds it was just a fantasy that never came to fruition for them, perpetuated by books, movies, music, pretty much all of pop culture.Oliver was not one of those people.Barry was one of those people.Olivarry Week 2017- Day #3- Soulmates AU





	Fire and the Flood

**Author's Note:**

> GODS I love Soulmate AUs which is why I wrote yet another one. I bet you're all sick of them from me. You're probably all like; come on, seriously, can you write anything else!?
> 
> Also, I'm never going to get these in not under the wire, am I? In my defense, I work two jobs and pretty much didn't pre-write anything in preparation for this week, so instead I just am writing as soon as I get home until I sleep and then get up to go to work again. But I love these two idiots and can't help but contribute to Olivarry week as well as I can. Okay, sorry with the rambling it's late and I'm sleep deprived. 
> 
> Actual info you need for this fic: Soulmate AU where marks that appear on your Soulmate's body appears on yours and vice versa. This happens after both are fifteen. Potentially, if there was a significant age difference you would not know for years that you had a Soulmate until they turned 15.
> 
> I originally thought that there was more of an age difference between Oliver and Barry, but there's really not much of one (according the the internet, anyways) and I'm just going to go with the Arrow wikia dates for simplicity's sake. 
> 
> Once again not betaed what-so-ever. I'm too much of a procrastinator for that. Maybe after this week (once I've had more than a few hours sleep a night). I'll come back and fix what I can. Apologies for the crap self-beta job (this is blanket for all fics this week, okay?)
> 
> Sorry for the rambling! Enjoy!

The lead up to his 15th birthday was unbearable. As his birthday approached, Thea seemed more excited about it than he was; she was already imagining a wedding where she could be the flower girl. Oliver had stopped trying to explain that he was still a kid and couldn’t get married even if he _wanted_ to, which he absolutely didn’t. Whether he found his significant other on that certain spring day, or no. Of course, Thea was a stubborn 5 year old and refused to listen, already picking out the dress that would look best with the rainbow of flower petals she was going to throw, because why would she choose just one when all the flowers were so pretty?

Thea’s childish fancies were nothing compared to everyone else’s anticipation to _his_ birthday, which was driving him crazy. He lost track of how many times he told everyone that he _didn’t care._ They didn’t listen or believe him any way.

He wrote on his arm with the expensive pen that his parents had bought him for the occasion. Nothing happened. He got sympathy from family and friends. Especially from Laurel and Tommy who had just discovered last month on Laurel’s birthday that they were Destined. He shrugged off all of the concern; telling them that he hadn’t cared in the first place and just checked out of obligation.

They all reassured him with the expected platitudes that he could just be older and they could just not be fifteen. Oliver didn’t care, really he didn’t. They went on and celebrated the rest of his birthday with cake and ice cream. Soon the almost inevitable let down of a Fifteenth without a mark was forgotten by everyone, forgotten by everyone but the birthday boy.

In the next few months he got the occasional question by his friends or his parents, he would brush it off carelessly. For her part, during the rest of the month his little sister would grab his arms and check for a mark, sighing heavily when there was nothing there before skipping off to play. Eventually they stopped asking.

He never told anyone is that he sometimes did write to his on his arm, and a small part of him hoped that someone would write back. He lost hope quickly and after two years of no response, he stopped. He stopped writing; he stopped hoping, and he accepted that he wasn’t going to be a Lucky One.

It wasn’t until nearly four years after his life was supposed to have changed when it happened. When a word appeared on his arm, it was while he was packing for his and Tommy’s first spring break trip to Cancun. He was holding his swimsuit and underwear in in hand to pack when he saw it, one small word was written on his right arm.

**Hello**

The black was a bold black sign on his pale skin. It was written in careful round letters. He brought his other hand up to touch it, not noticing the slight tremor in his hand as he traced the word. He didn’t know how long he stared at it before the room next his slammed their door.

It brought him back to himself and he blinked and looked around as if unsure of where he was. He shook his head and turned up his music, hoping to drown out his own thoughts and distract himself from the new mark on his arm that someone else had made. His packing was forgotten. He just changed clothes and turned off the light.

As he lay down on the bed, he kicked off his half-packed duffle carelessly. He clenched his eyes shut as if to prove he wasn’t looking at his arm any more. He flung open his eyes to his darkened room. There was just enough light from the stereo for him to see the 5 letter sit innocently on his arm. He growled to himself and grabbed a hoodie that was lying in a pile on his floor and yanked it on with jerky movements, covering up his arms in the process.

He sighed and flopped back to lie on his bed. He relaxed a bit more than he had previously. The music was lulling him to sleep. He fooled himself into thinking that he didn’t know exactly where the innocent word was halfway down his forearm. Even though it was just a visual mark, it swore he could feel it, like a scar. Oliver wouldn’t remember in the morning that when he was half asleep his left hand began to absentmindedly stroke the sleeve of his right arm exactly where a word would be found on the skin underneath.

He didn’t know that hundreds of miles away a skinny, awkward kid was staring at the mark he had made on his arm. He had made it with a permanent marker that his best friend and foster sister had bought him, without Joe knowing, for the occasion. Joe was over protective and unlike other parents, didn’t seem to want his kids to try to find their other half, getting their hopes up, only to get their heart broken.

Every second after he had tentatively written a greeting, felt like an eternity. Every moment that ticked by with no response made his anticipation shrink and his fear to ratchet up a notch.

He finally decided he better get to bed so he wasn’t exhausted for his last day of school before spring break. When he changed into his pyjamas he tried not to obsessively look at his arm every second. It was just past midnight; maybe the other was just asleep. He never thought of the other person with _that term_ because it felt like he would be jinxing it, as if saying it out loud would make it a lie.

He turned off the lamp by his bed. He couldn’t help himself and he brought up his arm to stare at it. He sat up suddenly in bed and grabbed the marker that lay next to his lamp, flicking the lamp back on as well. He thought for a moment before he wrote. He paused when he was done and read it through. He nodded to himself and set the marker back down and turned off the light again. He fell asleep with his arm cradled to his chest as if it was broken, hoping for _the_ Fifteenth that all kids hoped for.

A few short hours later, far too short in his opinion, Oliver woke up. He and Tommy had an early plane to catch. Of course, the good thing about being up this early was that the showers were empty. It was then that he noticed the writing had grown.

This revelation had made him slip and stop himself from falling and taking the curtain with him, he painfully caught himself with his elbow and hip against the shower wall. Once he had straightened and was on firm footing, he turned back to the writing.

**Hello, if you’re out there:**   
**I’d love to meet you some day.**   
**I’m here if you need me. -B**

He traced the ‘B’ lightly before he finished getting ready and replacing the hoodie so he wouldn’t have to look at the words and let his feelings get carried away. He’d been just fine without a soulmate and he was damn sure that B would be much better off without him in their life.

The brunet who had dreamed of meeting his Other since he was old enough to know what that means, woke up disappointed to find his arm still holding only his own handwriting. He sighed dejectedly. He figured he better wash off his writing, he didn’t want anyone else to see the evidence of the depth of his yearning for his other half.  
  
While he was washing he saw them, bruises on his hip and arm, where there definitely hadn’t been anything last night. He felt a grin spread across his face as he touched them; the first real evidence of his _soulmate._

It took a moment before his smile morphed into a faintly confused look at the words being washed off his arm. They existed, so why weren’t they contacting him? This puzzled him for the rest of the morning so that he finished getting ready for school mechanically. Once he was dressed and downstairs, he couldn’t remember how he got to be there.

“Happy birthday, kiddo,” his foster father said as he scooped eggs and bacon onto Barry’s plate.

“Thanks, Joe,” Barry smiled at him distantly as he dug into his food, still not looking as if his mind was there.

“You okay, kid?” Joe asked with concern. He had a feeling he knew what had Barry so preoccupied. He’d been dreading both of their Fifteenths and within three months of each other too!

“Yeah, just,” Barry gestured wildly and disjointedly. Joe seemed to understand and placed a placating hand on his shoulder.

“I’m here if you want to talk, Bare, but I won’t pry either. This is between you and them-“

“Wha-?” Barry was only half able to yelp, staring at Joe with wide eyes. Joe’s grin flashed across his face at the gobsmacked expression on his son’s face.

“I am a detective, if you don’t remember,” he teased the shocked teenager, gently.

“But if you want to talk, I’m here, okay? I’m still here for you.” Barry nodded, speech still beyond him, still trying to recover. Joe seemed to understand. “Well, I better make sure Sleeping Beauty is up and ready or we’ll be late! He left Barry downstairs.

“Oh,” he shouted down, “Your card’s on the counter!” That brought Barry back to himself and he scrambled over to see the card, smiling at the spiky scrawl.

_Happy Birthday, Barry. Your Fifteenth, already, I can’t believe it. As always, I hope your day is beyond amazing for such an astounding kid. Just a bit of advice, because I know you’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. Don’t let whatever happens today change you. No one’s Fifteenth goes as they plan. Whether this is the day or not, doesn’t matter: today is not the end all and be all of your life._

_Just be patient, son. The right person is worth waiting for._

_Love,  
Dad_

Barry had no sooner put down then he was attacked by five foot four inches of best friend, squealing happy birthday.

His dads’ words from this morning stuck with him throughout the day. After cake and gifts that night when Barry was dressed for bed, he found himself again staring at his arm in thought. He picked up his marker and wrote. Once he was done he laid down and went to sleep quickly, because he was at peace.

**I will wait for as long as it takes,**   
**until you’re ready.**   
**I’m still here. -B**

**Author's Note:**

> Tomorrow's the half-way point, kids! How exciting, and yet sad. Hope you've all been enjoying! And hey, you, yeah you, get in on the fun while you can!


End file.
